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Rajeev Shukla vexed as BCCI faces scrutiny after 4th T20I called off in 'hazardous' Lucknow smog; Chakravarthy stunned
BCCI faced questions over scheduling matches in northern India during peak winter after the fourth T20I against South Africa was called off due to dense fog.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) came under scrutiny on Wednesday after the fourth T20I of the five-match series between India and South Africa was called off due to poor visibility caused by dense smog at the Ekana Stadium. The Indian board faced questions over scheduling matches in northern India during peak winter, even though it was the third game of the series in the region after the second T20I in New Chandigarh and the third match in Dharamsala.
The match was scheduled to start at 7 pm, with the toss at 6:30 pm. However, the start was delayed, with umpires set to inspect visibility 20 minutes after the scheduled toss time. The delay dragged on as match officials conducted close to six inspections before the game was finally called off at 9:30 pm.
ALSO READ: Shashi Tharoor slams BCCI venue choice as 411 AQI smog called off Lucknow T20I: 'Visibility too poor to permit a game'
As the inspections continued, fans lashed out at the BCCI on social media, sharing visuals of smog-covered Lucknow, where the Air Quality Index (AQI) remained in the hazardous range above 400. This further raised questions over the board’s commitment to player welfare. India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was seen wearing a surgical mask during the team’s first warm-up session to counter the pollution. After the second delay, players abandoned their warm-ups and returned to the dressing rooms. By 9 pm, the sizeable crowd that had braved the cold conditions had also begun to thin out.
During one of the inspections, BCCI vice-president and lifelong Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association’s spiritual boss Rajeev Shukla was seen walking towards the centre of the ground, where umpires were conducting a visibility test. Shukla appeared vexed while speaking to the match officials.
India spinner Varun Chakravarthy, a Tamil Nadu native, was left stunned by the thick smog engulfing the Lucknow ground.
"I've never played at a ground this cold, so I did find it quite challenging,” he said.
What should BCCI have done?
On match day, the AQI in Dharamsala was in the ‘poor’ category, while the second T20I in New Chandigarh was played under ‘severe’ air quality. This raised questions over the BCCI operations team’s planning, especially if historical weather data for north Indian cities was not considered or if there was no contingency plan, such as scheduling afternoon starts, to ensure at least some play for ticket-paying fans.
What the BCCI could have done is swap the venues allotted for the white-ball series against New Zealand, which will be played from January 11, which are mostly across western and southern India. The venues include Vadodara, Rajkot, Indore, Nagpur, Raipur, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram. Guwahati is the only venue in the north eastern region of the country.
